


No Labels

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming of Age, Corporate AU, Dubious Plot, F/M, Fluff, HEA, Older Man/Younger Woman, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23945464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: College student Rey meets Kylo Ren on Tinder, failing to realise he isn’t using his real name. They continue to spend an excess amount of time together without relationship labels, unaware that they’re lives are much more intertwined than they imagined. First, he’s her boss. Next, they’re almost family?-Discontinued-
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girl meets boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first writing and I'm so excited to share this with you. Enjoy!

Rey wakes up on a chilly Wednesday morning to the buzz of phone. She is still lying in bed comfortably under the covers. Feeling all groggy, she picks up her phone to see a new e-mail notification from First Order Strategies. Those 3 words are enough to have her quickly sit right up in bed, hands slightly shaking. She can almost hear the pounding of her heart. Nervously, she clicks onto the notification and swiped up her screen, ignoring all other notifications. The email begins to load.

_To: rey.johnson@newrepublicuniversity.edu.sg_

_From: maz.katana@firstorderstrategies.com_

_Subject: First Order Strategies Internship Programme – Internship Placement (Rey Johnson)_

_Dear Rey,_

_Thank you for your interest in First Order Strategies’ Internship Programme and for your time spent in our recruitment process so far. We are keen to extend an internship opportunity to you._

**_Intern Role: Management Consultant Intern_ **

_You will work alongside other business analysts and report directly to the project manager. Your main tasks will include performing detailed requirements analysis and documenting processes. To succeed in this role, you should have a natural analytical way of thinking and be able to explain difficult concepts to non-technical users._

_The rest of the Intern role responsibilities and offer term can be found in the Internship Offer Letter as attached._

_If you are accepting this internship offer, please complete the attached document and send it back to us (in PDF) by the end of the week so that we can kickstart your onboarding process._

_Should you have any questions or clarifications along the way, please do not hesitate to reach out to me._

_Thank you._

_Best regards,_

_Kaydel Connix_

_Talent Acquisition_

_Human Resources_

_First Order Strategies_

“I got the internship!” Rey throws her phone on her bed and proceeds to make some muffled screams of happiness into her pillow. Lying back down in bed, she cannot stop smiling.

 _This is the best day of my life,_ she thought to herself. She has been waiting for this email for the longest time. As a third-year business student, Rey has been actively applying for internships for the upcoming summer vacation. An aspiring consultant, she’s looking to venture into the consulting sector upon graduation, and this offer e-mail meant that she is one step closer to pursuing her dreams.

She immediately grabs her phone again and sends a quick text message to her clique group chat. Her close friend group consists of Rose, Finn and herself.

She met both Rose and Finn on their very first day of freshmen year, during their orientation camp. Being in the same orientation group, they clicked immediately and have been best friends ever since.

Like Rey, Finn never knew his parents but was adopted into a loving family at a very young age. As for Rose, she was probably one of the sweetest girls she has ever met At New Republic University, the trio studies at the Organa Business School. It’s named after Leia Organa, the famous businesswoman and philanthropist in New York. She had donated a huge some of money to the business school, hence NRU named it after her.

The trio has been taking their classes together as much as they can for the past three years, which not only meant that they have been spending a lot of time together, but also that they did not really have other close-knitted friends outside of this friend group. Rey and Rose have the same aspiration of becoming consultants once they graduate, while Finn was more interested in marketing.

 ** _Rey:_** _Guys! Guess what!_

 **_Finn:_ ** _What._

 ** _Rose:_** _What!!_

 ** _Rey:_** _Drum roll, please…_

 ** _Rey:_** _I just got offered an internship position at FOS. I didn’t think that I was going to get it because Rose got the offer like two days back._

 ** _Finn:_** _Congrats! <3 I’m so proud of you. I know how much you wanted this internship. I hope that the wait for them was worth it!_

 ** _Rose:_** _Yay! When are you starting yours? Is it the same as mine?_

 ** _Rey:_** _Yea, I think so. They want me to start on the Monday right after our last paper. Same as you, right?_

_**Rose:** Yep! I wanted to renegotiate for another day because we only have a two-day break, but that’s okay. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my summer with you!! _

_**Rey:** But I think we’re in different departments though. I’m at the tech side and you’re in the operations side. _

_**Rose:** Eh, that’s okay, we’re still in the same company, this is so exciting! _

_**Finn:** Guys, don’t make me jealous, I’m at a different company for my internship but our companies are like 5 mins apart. Don’t forget about me._

_**Rey:** _ _We would never! Anyway, I’ll text y’all later. I can’t wait to tell Luke about this fantastic news!!_

Rey quickly dials Luke’s number to share with him her good news. Within a few seconds, he picks up her call.

“Hey sweetheart, it’s so good to hear from you. I was just thinking of giving you a call.” Luke said cheerfully over the phone. So, what’s up?”

“I just got an internship offer from First Order Strategies!”

“Congratulations Rey, I knew you’d get it. I’m so proud of you for working so hard.”

The conversation with Luke goes on for another 30 mins, drifting over the topics of school, friends and love life. The two are inseparable, but ever since Rey moved out for college, they had not had enough opportunities to spend time together.

As usual, Rey’s circle of friends revolved around Rose and Finn, and her love life was dead quiet. She found it hard to believe that someone, anyone, truly loves her for who she is. She cannot stand the thought of falling head over heels for someone, only to have them wake up one day realising that this relationship is not what they wanted, and they walk out on her. That is just so much at stake.

“Well, I’ve really got to go, I’ve got a session with Maz.” Rey has an appointment with her therapist in an hour’s time, and she needs some time to freshen up and travel down to the clinic.

“Alright, have a good session and take care of yourself!”

“It was so great talking to you; I miss you so much.”

“And I miss you too.” Rey sighs and quickly gets ready.

***

The first half of the session goes relatively smoothly. Rey shares with her therapist Dr Katana about her internship and _for once_ , she is excited with what the future holds for her. Today is one of her better days and there are not many like this.

“Rey, how have you been coping lately asides from that? I want to touch on what we discussed in the last session on healthy coping mechanisms.” Maz tries to bring up the topic of Rey’s abandonment issues carefully – the main reason why Rey is actually going for therapy.

“How do I say it,” Rey pauses. “Things hasn’t been going exactly been going the way I want it too, especially in terms of taking real steps to deal with my childhood trauma.” She looks down to the floor as if she is ashamed of herself. Well, she actually is.

Rey learnt from a young age that she has been abandoned. She never knew her parents. Foster care was not the best environment to grow up in as a child, especially when her first foster parent, Unkar Plutt, is a money-grubber. The only reason why he ever became a foster parent was for the stipend. On top of her abandonment issues, the inadequacies from his flawed care left her with many baggages of trust issues and insecurity.

 _At least I had a home._ That was what she told herself throughout the years under his care.

That was until the day Rey found the courage to report Plutt with the help of her homeroom teacher whom she had gotten close to and managed to mother to another foster home when she was twelve. She was lucky enough to have Luke Skywalker as her new foster parent. He was the supportive parental figure she never had.

She never took his last name – but she hopes to change to his in future. After all, she is eternally grateful to have met him.

That being said, even with Luke’s warming heart and patience, childhood trauma never really goes away. Her constant fear of abandonment, even by Luke one day, makes it even harder for her to get close to a guy, to even stay in a long term relationship with one. Yes, she has dated a few people here and there, but they were nothing serious.

“In all honesty, I feel like I’m trying. But I haven’t done anything you said. One thing for sure is I haven’t got off tinder yet.”

One of Rey’s toxic traits is matching with guys on Tinder, showing them excessive interest, and ghosting them after a while because they’re either in too deep or she got bored.

Maz listens patiently and does not interrupt.

“I feel like I’ve never genuinely loved, or even liked a person before. Most of my feelings feel so superficial, kinda like when a child gets a new toy, plays with it, gets bored and wants another new toy.”

Maz nods and scribbles something on her clipboard.

“I will be better soon, I promise,” Rey adds on quickly as if she had something to prove.

“You don’t need to promise me anything. I know you’re trying. Even you said it yourself. The first step of personal growth is acknowledging that you have a problem. And you do know your problem. And that’s are a really big deal.”

Rey listens carefully to her words and leans back in her chair. Maz looks at the time, the session is almost up.

“I’ll leave you with one last thing to keep in mind. Never undermine yourself, you are so much more than you think you are.”

“Thank you, Maz. You don’t know how appreciative I am for you, your patience and your kindness.”

Maz stands up and holds the door open for Rey. “See you next month and take care.”

“You too.”

Rey quickly books the next appointment with the administrative clerk at the front desk. It is one of the evenings during the first week of her summer internship. Once that is done, she gives the clerk a wave, picks up two pieces of candy on the counter and walks out of the door.

***

Back at her apartment, Rey swipes through her notifications list to see what she has missed out earlier today.

She lives in a tiny studio apartment 20 minutes train ride from NRU and near the city centre of Manhattan. She is lucky, she really is. She could never afford the rent payment if not for Luke. Luke and Rey actually spent a couple of weeks after getting her acceptance letter to NRU to choose a suitable apartment for her.

Luke has been single all his life, never married. With no children of his own, he decided one day that he wanted to become a foster parent. He had no idea being a parent was like, but he wanted to try. Rey moved in with him shortly after his application. To think of it, it has been almost ten years since.

Rey enjoys the space, freedom and solidarity that came with living alone. It was daunting at first, but soon enough, she was so thankful that she lives alone. Nothing would be worse than having unreasonable, unkind roommates. And despite their closeness, Rey, Finn and Rose do not share an apartment together, mainly because they already see each other like five days a week. But every now and then they do come over and stay with each other, for extra bonding time.

It was a cosy 200 square feet home with one bedroom, one bathroom and a tiny living room. Several pots of succulents and indoor plants can be spotted all over her apartment. She loves how low maintenance yet beautiful they are, brightening every corner of the room. Antique and vintage seating surrounds a mid-century cocktail square table. The floors were concrete, and the walls were of a neutral off white colour. The kitchen had white brick-like walls with cedar green cabinetry, painted by her.

Rey looks at her phone screen. She has a whole bunch of notifications from Tinder, and she clicks on one of them to open the app.

7 new matches and 15 new messages.

She scans through her chat list to see what she has missed and noticed an unfamiliar face there.

 ** _Kylo Ren:_** _Hey, I’m new to this city. Wanna have dinner with me sometime?_

Finally, a man who is straight to the point and not sending her silly, overused pick-up lines. Instead of replying him back, she clicks his profile first.

Rey’s eyes widen and mouth hangs open.

 _He. Is. Gorgeously. Attractive._ _She thought to herself. She cannot believe her eyes. He has a built of a tree with very strong facial features. He probably looked awkward at some point in his life but now, his looks are thriving._

He has two pictures, both in formal wear. In the first picture was a close up, side shot of his face and upper torso. He had his long black hair combed back neatly with black bow tie. It looks like it was taken at an important, formal event. His side view is impeccable.

The second picture was a full body shot of him, also in formal wear, but without the bow tie. The first two buttons of his white shirt are unbutton, accentuating his broad chest. He had a big built, and she can easily tell from the photograph that he regularly exercises.

Almost instantaneously, she takes a screenshot of the image and sends it to her group chat with Finn and Rose inside.

 **_Rey_ ** _: Guess who just chatted me up on tinder._

 **_Rose:_ ** _Holy shit Rey, how are you always matching with guys this attractive? What a unique name too._

 **_Rose:_ ** _Finn, you gotta see this._

 **_Finn:_ ** _OMG, I am shook. What did he send you?_

 **_Rey:_ ** _He said that he’s new to the city and he’ll like to have dinner with me sometime. What do you guys think? Am I up for this?_

 ** _Rose:_** _Ooh that sounds so exciting. Please tell me you’re going to say yes._

_**Finn** : Of course you are up for this. _

_**Rey:** Well, I mean, for all I know, he could be a catfish. _

_**Rose:** Just meet him in a public place. Based on my sixth sense, he looks really sweet. _

**_Rey:_ ** _I was thinking of asking if he’ll be available for dinner this Friday evening. Remember that Italian place we went to a few weeks back? I’ve been craving it ever since._

 **_Finn:_ ** _Sounds good to me, they have an amazing ambience._

Realising that she has left him on read, Rey quickly replies Kylo of her availability, along with the restaurant’s menu.

***

Rey decides to spend the rest of her Wednesday at home celebrating her internship offer and spends her entire Thursday in school. She had two back to back classes in the morning, and after, she camped at NRU’s library to get some work done. Nothing beats a productive day with her two best friends. For the entire day on Thursday, Rey barely replied Kylo’s messages because she was so engrossed with her university work. She had 3 group reports due in two weeks’ time and her third year of study was coming to an end. One more year and she will graduate.

Her short conversation with him consisted mostly of them sharing about what they’re up to that day and some sharing of hobbies here and there. She recalls that he mentioned that he has just resigned from his previous work and moved here for another job.

She spends Friday studying in her own apartment because she did not want to waste the time travelling to school and carrying all her things to the dinner with Kylo.

Her phone buzzes.

 ** _Kylo:_** _I’ve booked a reservation at 7._

 **_Rey:_ ** _Okay, see ya._

 **_Kylo:_ ** _It’s a date._

_***_

As Rey makes her way to the restaurant, she receives another text from him.

 ** _Kylo:_** _I’m already inside. It’s under my name._

 **_Rey:_ ** _I’m so sorry, I’ll be reaching in 5. Under Kylo?_

Rey speeds up her walking pace. The last thing she wants her first impression to be is late.

 **_Kylo:_ ** _Don’t be, I’m early after all. Yes, it’s under Kylo Ren. I’m in a white t-shirt and jeans in case you tell if it’s me._

 _**Rey:** _ _Okay! I look forward to seeing you. I’m in a long dress._

Rey chuckled and puts her phone back into her pocket. Within minutes, she’s outside the restaurant. She stands at the entrance nervously to catch a breath. She straightens out her dress with her hands and brushes her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ears. With another deep breath, she walks up the steps and pushes the door open.

The restaurant is a well-lit room with numerous light bulbs hanging in the shape of an arch, making it very inviting. The walls are wooden in texture and the floor is filled with dark grey tiles. There is a bar counter with a white tabletop. She loves the beautiful interior. As it is a Friday night, the place is relatively crowded. She makes a mental note to thank him for making the reservation.

“Good evening miss, do you have a reservation?” the friendly waiter asked.

“Hi, I have a reservation for two under Kylo Ren, and I believe that he’s already here?” She stands nervous, looking around the restaurant for someone in white.

The waiter quickly scans the reservation list and nods his head at her. “Follow me this way, miss.”

As Rey walks behind him, she begins to feel a bit more jittery than she was earlier on the way to the restaurant. Nervously, she interlocks and unlocks her fingers incessantly. She had no idea what to expect. Does he look exactly like his profile picture? Is he a catfish? Will he smile when he sees her? What does his voice sound like?

The feeling of meeting someone for the first time is always exciting yet apprehensive. To learn about someone and unravel them like a story is always the most exciting part, she will never know what to expect.

There he was, sitting there, eyes fixated on something on his phone screen. Their table is all the way inside the restaurant. Kylo is wearing a fitted white crew-neck t-shirt and dark blue denim jeans, a huge contrast from the suit he was wearing in his profile picture. On his feet was black and white Air Jordans 1.

As soon as he sees her approaching him, he stands up ready to greet her and stretches his hand out for a handshake.

“Hi Rey, it’s so good to see you.” He gives her a warm smile. He stares at her with intensity, and her eyes trail down his face to his torso.

He stands tall with such broad shoulders. The white sleeves snugly wrap around his huge biceps and Rey cannot help but stare. He is the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. His hair is ruffled up and in loose waves that fall to the side of his face. In her mind, she cannot decide if she likes this hairstyle, or the one in his profile pic better. She quickly reaches out for his hand and shakes it.

“Uh, hi,” her voice was softer and gentler than usual, embarrassed that he caught her staring. He has many beauty marks on his face, and they are made more obvious from the contrast of his pale skin.

For someone who is extroverted and talkative, she monetarily finds difficulty in continuing the conversation with him. She is so overwhelmed by his exterior that she cannot do anything else but inhale all that is in front of her. And he even smells nice, gosh. He waits for her to continue her sentences but she does not.

“You’re as pretty as your picture. I love your dress.” He speaks, trying to avoid any awkward pauses with them. After all, the first conversation with a stranger always requires more effort.

“Thank you, I bought this last week and it’s my first time wearing it.” Rey blushes and tucks her hair behind her ears.

Rey was wearing a sleeveless linen maxi dress. The white fabric has multiple vertical grey stripes, making her look poise and taller than she is. The flat shoulder straps show her shoulders and the fitted waistline flatters her slim body shape. She wore a pair of black leather mules with some gold detail, as well as canvas tote back to pair with her dress. With extra time to get ready for the dinner, she even curled her shoulder-length chestnut hair into loose waves.

“And I almost forgot, this is for you.” He picks up a red rose on the table and passes it to her.

“Is this for me? You shouldn’t have.” Rey loves flowers. Her favourites are baby’s breath, followed by roses. “I love it so much. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Glad you like it.” He smiles back. She looks at the flower again, grinning from ear to ear. She brings it to her nose to get a whiff of the scent. Who would have thought that such a little gesture will go a long way?

She then takes a seat, and he follows suit. They first spend some time looking at the menu in silence, deciding on what to order. After a few minutes, the same waiter, James, approaches them.

“Are you ready to order?”

Kylo looks up as her, waiting for her to say her order first.

“I’d like to get the Penne Al Pollo, please,” Rey replies.

“And I’ll have the Prawn Aglio Olio. If you’re okay with it,” He looks at her. “We’ll like to have some red wine to pair with our mains.”

Rey nods in agreement. The waiter nods too to acknowledge the order. He then steps away, giving them some time to get to know each other better.

“So, Rey, tell me more about your day.” Kylo clears his throat. Now that it is just the two of them, he seems to sound a little nervous. “You’ve been busy over the past few days. What have you been up to?”

“I’ve been busy with projects and studying for finals because my semester is about to end in a couple of weeks. I’m in my third year and am graduating next summer.” She adds. He listens attentively, nodding at every little thing. “I spend my day at home and got some work done. Then, I took my time to get ready and here I am!” She said gleefully.

“That sounds nice, thank you for spending your Friday evening with me.”

“You’re welcome.” Rey blushes. She likes how he was so respectful and careful with his words throughout their conversation.

“It’s been almost a week since I’ve arrived in Manhattan.” Kylo begins. “Spent the whole week clearing up my new apartment and buying whatever necessities I need.”

“What’s that like? Your apartment?” Rey asks. You can tell a lot about a person by the kind of apartment they have. Rey loves nature and the natural tones in her apartment remind her of the tranquillity of the forest.

As for her vintage furniture, Rey initially bought them at thrift stores and flea markets because of how cheap they were for the quality, but over the years she started growing on to them. Furthermore, the craftsmanship is nothing compared to today’s factory-made furniture for the same price range.

“As a monochrome type of guy, I pride myself in having only black, white or grey furniture and I keep all the walls white. Modern minimalism is what I am for.”

“That sounds beautiful. Almost as if you just described one of the apartments featured on Architectural Digest.” Kylo chuckles at her compliment.

“You can come to see if you want, actually.” Kylo pauses. “You don’t have to, of course, no pressure.” His left arm stretches pointing to a direction ahead of him. “I actually live a few blocks from down here… if you’re still interested, you can come over and take a look.”

Rey is hesitant. But she _really_ wanted to see his apartment too. And she wants to get to know him better.

“Ask me again after dinner,” Kylo smirks at her response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated every Friday (or earlier if I've got the brain juice) 💕


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of getting to know Kylo better and their dinner date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope I'm not too late with uploading this one. Went auto-pilot mode writing this chapter.

“Mom, it’s me. Yes, I’ll take the job.” Ben is speaking over the phone to his mother, Leia. After almost a decade of working with Snoke, he finally called it quits, and resigned without a job. Over the past few weeks after his resignation, his mother has been persistent in getting him to join her company, FOS, but has yet to decide till now.

It is not an easy decision to make. Having to move cities to pack and unpack everything is a huge challenge. Trying to reconnect with your parents after being estranged for almost a decade is even tougher.

Many firms sought after him, his expertise is so valuable. However, he decided that it’s finally time to pick up the pieces and mend the broken family relationship.

“Benjamin, you have no idea how pleased I am to hear that,” Leia responds with relief. “Take all the time you need to settle everything and let me know when you can start. I can’t wait to see you back in Manhattan. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Their conversations have always been relatively formal, keeping the distance between them. After all, Leia is much too afraid to overstep her boundaries only to have her son leave her again. She is just glad that they are on talking terms again.

Ben spends the next two weeks bidding goodbyes and packing his things. In between, he spends his free time swiping strangers on dating apps. He is lonely. Working his arse off for his previous company, he barely had time to date, not even time to himself. His life, his everything revolved around work, and for a while, he was used to the hustle. After watching his colleagues and friends get married and start a family, he started seconding guessing his lifestyle and realised it was time to settle down. Work-life balance is just what he needs.

Ben does not use his real name on his dating profile, just in case. He goes by the name “Kylo Ren” instead.

During his first week of moving in in Manhattan, he swipes on Rey, a college student nine years younger than him. Why not? Age is just a number. But Jesus, she does not even fall into the half plus seven category. In dating, the age of the younger person should not be less than half the age of the older person plus seven years.

 _Never mind, a year or two doesn’t make a difference._ He consoles himself. He takes a closer look at her profile pictures. From headshots to full body photographs in different outfits, she really thought through her profile.

 _She’s too pretty to be single, better yet, on this app._ He thinks to himself. But he swipes on her anyway. He caught himself smiling to himself when he realised that they have matched and did not hesitate to drop her a message.

 _Finally taking initiative, Solo?_ He chucked to himself. He does not know what to expect of her, but he takes the chance anyway. Ben has had several experiences with meeting women online in real life, but he found it difficult to connect with them. And if he did, he was much too involved with his career that he ended up neglecting them.

He realises that Rey readily arranges the date for their date. He offers to pick her up for dinner but she kindly refuses.

***

“So, do you have any hobbies?” Kylo asks as he twirls his spaghetti with his fork.

“I like to take evening jogs around the neighbourhood two to three times a week. Occasionally, I’ll use the university gym after class to use their equipment for a different type of workout. I wish I could use the gym more often, but it isn’t free, and I’m not willing to buy the membership.”

“Actually there’s a gym at my condo and it’s free, you could come over and use it whenever you want. If you want to.”

“Oh, that would be too inconvenient for you… but if you insist.” He cannot help but grin at Rey’s giggles.

Their conversation went on heartily throughout the dinner as they talked about their hobbies. They found out that they had a lot in common, like how much they enjoyed independence and living alone, their love dogs yet not having one, and their love for indie rock music.

After about an hour, they finished their dinner and left the restaurant. After finishing their meals, they lingered a little bit longer and had a few more glasses of red wine. Kylo was insistent on paying for their meals despite how much Rey wanted to go Dutch. He promises that she will get her chance the next time.

Once they step out of the restaurant, Kylo stops in his tracks and stares at Rey deeply into her eyes.

“My offer still stands. If you wanna come over.” He tilts his head to the direction of where his apartment is at. “I stay a few blocks down and we can walk over. But I completely understand if you’re not comfortable and I’ll send you back safely.” He gives her a reassuring smile.

“I don’t mind. It’s Friday night. Let’s have another drink.” Rey only answers him after a few seconds, as if she was weighing the probability of him being a serial killer. She snakes her hand around his arm to show her eagerness. It catches him by surprise, but he doesn’t flinch.

They walk down the dimly lit streets of Manhattan in silence, not I-do-not-know-what-to-say awkward silence, but rather a comfortable I-am-enjoying-this-peaceful-walk type of silence. After a few minutes of walking, her entire arm was very much wrapped around his arm, but he tears her away. Instead, he gently slips his hand into hers. He does not interlock their fingers. He waits for her to reciprocate.

Rey does not hesitate to intertwine their fingers. Even though she barely knew him, she felt safe and calm around him. He tugs her closer.

After about 15 minutes of turning and crossing a few streets, they finally stop in front of a luxurious condominium. 

“Wow, is this where you live?!” She exclaims. Her eyes widen and mouth drops at the sight of it. _How rich does he have to be to live in this sort of apartment?_ She thought to herself. As a college student who does not have a part-time job on the side, Rey could not have been able to pay for her own rent. Her foster father, Luke, has been doing so for her since she moved in her freshmen year of college. She hopes to finally afford her own rent once she graduates and take care of him, after all, that he has done for her.

“Yeah, this is it. It’s pretty new. I think. I bought it because I like the view.”

“You _bought this_ apartment?”

“I’m doing okay. Plus, I’m like 9 years older than you or something.” He shrugs.

“I wanna be just like you when I grow up.” Rey gave him puppy dog eyes, being genuine and somewhat mocking him at the same time.

He takes out a card from his wallet and taps the scanner at the gate. Once approved, he holds open the gate for her and closes it behind him. After a short walk in the common area, with well-groomed gardens and clean pools, they arrive at in front of one of the apartment blocks. They walk into the block and into the lift, and he taps onto the sensor once again inside the lift before clicking his unit level. Level 15.

With their fingers still interlocked, he faces her and brings himself closer to her. She steps back with her back against the wall of the elevator, and the space between them grows smaller. He takes a whiff of her. She smelt of freshly laundered linen her hair lavender. It is intoxicating. He inhales deeply. He lowers his gaze to her with growing desire, but neither of them moves. She stares back at him and momentarily, she felt a spark between them.

Her self-awareness seeps in. _Was it a spark? Or is this another temporary interest in a stranger, only to fade away as time passes?_

One moment she was almost pinned and another she was left hanging. He gives her a quick peck on her forehead before stepping out of the lift first.

Mouth agape, she quickly forgets about the elevator interaction. To her astonishment, the elevator doors open directly into his unit. It was a private elevator.

“I do live comfortably,” Kylo humbly said when he notices her surprise.

“You can take a seat on the couch and make yourself at home. Feel free to wander around too.” He instructs as he removes his shoes at the front entrance. “I’ll be in the kitchen preparing the drinks. The bathroom is the first door on the right over there,” he points out.

Kylo opens the top cabinet to pull out two wine glasses and picks out a bottle of red wine from his wine chiller. Rey helped herself making herself at home, venturing into the hallways living room and then the hallway.

As she peers into one of the rooms, his master bedroom and turns on the lights, he walks over to pass her a glass. She darts her eyes around the room. Just like the living room, his bedroom is white on all four walls. He meant it when he said he has a monochromatic theme. The king-sized bed in the centre of the bedroom had white sheets, a stark contrast to the bright floral ones she had back in her apartment, on her super single bed. The bed frame is made of rough, grey wood. The ceiling height windows look out on a lit up, high-rise Manhattan. On the top are dark grey blinders rolled up. She spots two large indoor plants at each corner of the tall windows.

“Are you other rooms like this?” Rey sips the wine in her hand.

“Yes and no. I have a guest bedroom which is similar to this one except with a queen bed, and the last one is just a storage room for now. I don’t know what to use it for yet so it’s practically empty.”

“Three rooms and I’m guessing… you live alone?”

“No, I have a wife and three kids, welcome to my crib.” Rey bursts out laughing at his answer, hand to her stomach to contain her laughter. “Let’s sit down somewhere.” He reaches out for her hand and brings her to the couch in the living room.

“Do you want to watch tv or anything? I have Netflix.” In front of his couch sits a 52” flat screen television mounted to the wall with surround sound speakers.

“Since it’s a Friday night, let’s play a drinking game.” Rey proposes.

“Sure, what do you have in mind?”

“Let’s play ‘Never Have I Ever’,” Rey looks straight into his eyes. This was by far one of her favourite drinking game often played in college.

“I have never ever… what?” Kylo furrows his brows. The game was foreign to him.

“What? You don’t know this game? I play this like _all_ the time.” She almost looks disgusted at him.

 _An uncultured swine._ She thought to herself.

 _Is this a millennial thing?_ He thinks to himself.

“Walk me through the game.” He proceeds to listen intently to her explanation.

“It’s more fun with more friends. But basically, all the players will sit in a circle. The first player says a simple statement about what they have never done before starting with the phrase ‘never have I ever’. If you’ve done the action the first player says at some point in time, you must drink. There are a few variations of it. Essentially, you wanna say something that you haven’t done, but really want to find out about the other person.” Kylo nods his head throughout her explanation, processing all that she has said.

“That’s easy. Let’s play.” He brings his wine glass up for a cheer.

“I’m not done.” She gives him a sly grin. “Let’s spice it up and play it a little differently. We’ll put up five fingers and put one down whenever something mentioned has been done before. Number 1. If either of us puts down a finger, that person must give a detailed account of why the finger was put down, or drink. And the person who puts down all five fingers loses and must drink finish their entire glass.”

“Fair enough. Bring it on.”

Kylo brings over the open bottle of wine and fills up their wine glasses first. They face each other with one hand showing all five fingers out.

“Since it’s your first time playing this game, you go first.”

“Fine. Get ready, because you’re going to lose tonight.” He says with a smirk.

“Nuh-uh.” Rey scrunches her nose and sticks her tongue out at him.

“We’ll see.”

“Never have I ever got drunk playing this game.”

“How dare you, I thought you would go easy on me!” Rey shyly puts one finger down.

“Never. Explain yourself or take a sip of your drink.”

“Okay. So freshmen year in college, I was at the bar with my best friends, Finn and Rose, along with other friends we’ve made. We played with _shots_. I can’t hold my liquor, and after the first round, I was gone.”

“Well, that’s going to be you tonight.” He guffaws and willingly takes a sip of his own drink.

“Feeling a little thirsty? I’ll give you a reason to drink. My turn now.” She looks at him straight in the eye. “Never have I ever had a friends with benefits.”

Kylo gracefully puts a finger down.

“Give an explanation or take a sip.”

“I’ll take a sip because I’m indeed thirsty, but I’ll elaborate too.” He takes a huge gulp and empties the glass. “This was just before I moved here. I met her at a bar one day after work. I’m totally busy, she’s totally busy, and not to mention pretty, so why not?”

“Follow up question. How long did it last for?”

“Now that you’ve asked it actually lasted quite a while. A year and a half more or less.” He pours more wine into his glass.

“Why didn’t you guys just date?” she asks again, apparently rather interested in his past.

“I don’t know, we were really different people, I guess. Probably at one point or the other, we considered it, but we never discussed.” He shrugs his shoulders. “That’s all in the past. It doesn’t matter anymore. We still chat from time to time though.”

“I see. Thanks for sharing that with me.” Rey puts her other hand on to his knee as some sort of consolation. She does not realise that this is something she should not do with someone she barely knows. He does not correct her or question her motive; he lets her be. He feels her thumb circling on his knee. He continues.

“You’re welcome. My turn. Never have I ever given a stranger my wrong number.”

“Damn it.” Rey puts a second finger down, her other hand still on his knee.

“I hope you're not taking a sip of your drink because I really want to hear this one.” His gaze falls onto her lips briefly before looking away.

“Have you ever met someone online in real life only to find out that they’re _really_ weird?”

He shakes his head laughing. “I’m a good judge of character.”

“Ask me for my number then.” She smirks. Kylo looks at her as if she has offended his entire family. Rey bursts out laughing at his reaction and her hand accidentally slips down his knee to his lower thigh.

“I’m just kidding. I’d give it to you if you asked.” Kylo proceeds to unlock his phone and hands it to her, implying that he wants hers to give him his number.

“Here.” Rey types her number in and gives it a call. Rey smiles at him. Now they have each other’s number. She returns his phone back to him. Kylo smiles back.

Kylo excuses himself to the bathroom. In the meantime, Rey saves his number into her contact list and texts her friends.

 _ **Rey:**_ _I’m over at his place now. I know what you’re thinking but… he’s really, really sweet!_

 _ **Rose:** I knew this was going to happen _ _😉_

 _ **Rey:**_ _We’re just playing Never Have I Ever, I swear nothing is going to happen_

_**Rose:** For now. Finn and I have a bet. Don’t make me lose $20_

_**Rey:** You guys are betting on my dating life? Omg. Rose, was this your idea?! _

_**Rose:** Maybe._

_**Finn:**_ _BE SAFE. Send us your location._

Rey sends them a drop pin.

_**Rey:** Here it is. Talk to y’all later._

_**Rose:**_ _Text us when you get back home or if you’re not going back_ _❤️_

 _ **Rey**_ _: Ugh, I love you too_ _❤️_

When he comes back, he sits a little closer to her than before and places one arm on the top of the backrest.

“Where were we? Is it my turn?” He asks.

“Nope! It’s my turn to ask you a question. Are you ready?” He nods. “Never have I ever… watched Friends.”

“What?! No way. Let’s pause this game. I’m gonna make you watch it right now.”

“It’s true. I’ve been meaning to watch it over the summer.” She explains herself. Kylo immediately grabs the remote control, turns on the television, searches for Netflix and plays the first episode of Friends. The theme song fills the room with his surround sound system.

“Come her.” He puts an arm around her shoulders, and she scoots closer to him. She rests her head on him.

***

After watching five episodes and finishing a bottle of wine, Rey was starting to get rather exhausted. Kylo notices her yawn.

“Shall we stop here? You seem a bit tired. Do you wanna stay here for the night? Or I can send you back home.” Rey looks at him in confusion. “We don’t have to do anything; you can use the guest room.” He tells her in an assuring manner. He does not want her to get the wrong idea.

“Thanks for the offer Kylo but I think it’ll be better if I head back home. I’ll just get an Uber.” In all honestly, she did not mind the idea of staying over. After all, she has no plans the next day. But a part of her just felt that it is a better idea to go home and wash up. She only just met him, who knows what could happen?

“Let me drive you back. It’s late at night and it can be really dangerous.” He offers again, hoping that this time, she will agree.

“Sure, let’s do that. Thank you.” Rey picks up her things, Kylo grabs his keys and they head down to the basement car park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think in the comments. Have a great week!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are in for a treat. ENJOY!

Kylo keys in her address in his vehicle’s built-in GPS system. The ride back was relatively silent as they learn to enjoy the newness of each other’s company. After all, they have only known each other for mere hours. He admits, he only has the capacity to spend time with her now while he has yet to start work. Once he begins his first day next week, he might be so buried in work that he no longer has time for her. However, things are different now. He cannot wait to keep knowing her. There is something about Rey that makes him want to unravel all her deep dark secrets.

The quiet drive is accompanied by mellow pop-punk music playing in the background. He starts to miss the little physical interactions they had throughout the night, from her gentle touch on his thigh to their huddling up on the couch towards the end of the night, he momentarily feels a little lonely. Driving automatic, he steadily reaches out his free right hand past the gear knob towards her. His hand creeps towards the side of her thigh, but not quite on her thigh, waiting for Rey’s reaction before he can decide his next move.

Rey’s vision immediately falters down, noticing how his hand was inching closer towards the edge of her seat. She feels his nervousness. And she is too. Her hand grabs his and places it over her left thigh. His large hands wrap nicely over her thigh and she places her hand on top of his. A grin begins to form on his face, and he uses his thumb to soothingly draw small circles into the fabric of her dress.

Surprisingly, it was a short 10-minute drive to her apartment, probably because there was little traffic at this time of the night. He parks his car by the side of the road and turns of the car.

“Thank you for the ride back, you don’t have to follow me up, I’m here.” She assures him. He can be such a gentleman.

“Are you sure? Because I want to.”

“I’m sure. You can watch me enter my building from here if you’re worried.” She offers.

“Okay then. Good night and stay safe.”

Rey reaches to the handle to open the car door.

“Rey, wait.” Kylo reaches out with his hand, tugging her back into her seat. “I had a great time tonight. And I want to see you again. Do you want to?” He asks nervously. He really, really, _really_ wants to see her again.

“I want to see you again too. How about… lunch tomorrow?” She notices that his face was expressionless. _Was it too early to see each other again?_ She begins to second guess herself. “Or maybe next week or something, I know it’s so last minute and you might be busy…”

“ Lunch tomorrow sounds good. Let me know where.” He interrupts before she rambled on.

“Okay. Goodnight, Kylo.” Rey is grinning from ear to ear, almost as if she was a teenager again and her long time crush has just asked her out on a date.

“Goodnight.” He replies. In this very moment, if either of them looks back, neither of them will be able to point who initiated it. Their movements were in sync as they lean in. One of his hand reaches to cup her face softly. Simultaneously, her hand grabs the side of his shirt.

Their lips touch tenderly for an instant. Rey pulls away, eyes widen back at him, surprised by this encounter. No clumsy kisses or clanking of teeth. Like a reflex goodbye kiss, it felt familiar. Though they have barely spoken about where their flirtation is going, she experiences love in a language that goes beyond speech from the tender touch of his lips on hers. 

Kylo, on the other hand, seems completely calm. He beams with pleasure and kisses her once more on her forehead.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.” He says, rubbing his thumb on her cheek. His physical ease soothes her.

“You too.” Rey steps out of the car and waves at him once more before she enters the main door. Closing the door behind her, her fingers trace her lips where he was once on. What a night.

Once she reached her apartment, Rey almost instantaneously whips out her phone to text her best friends.

**_Rey:_** _I know this may seem crazy but, I think we were made for each other._

 **_Rose:_ ** _Girl, are you MAD? TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT._

 **_Rey:_ ** _We kissed for the first time goodbye, and it was perfect. I swear it was almost as if we had kissed before. I can’t even find the words to explain how it happened. We were in sync._

 **_Finn:_ ** _No way. Are you trying to tell me he is your soulmate or what?_

 **_Rey:_ ** _Wait no that’s not what I meant._

 **_Rose:_ ** _This is so cute. I’m so happy for you. When are you seeing him?_

 **_Rey_ ** _: Call me crazy but… we’re having lunch tomorrow._

 **_Rose:_ ** _Seriously?!_

 **_Rey:_ ** _Yeah, I initiated it._

 **_Finn_ ** _: Rose and I are coming over tomorrow afternoon after your date and you are telling us EVERYTHING._

 **_Rey:_ ** _Fine. I miss you guys. See you._

 **_Rose:_ ** _I miss you too <3 _

**_Finn:_ ** _Good night <3_

 **_Rey:_ ** _Night <3_

In between washing up and preparing for bed, her mind drifted to thoughts of Kylo. No one has ever made such an impact on her. She does not know what will happen in future but at least for now, he feels the same. She can feel it.

 **_Kylo:_ ** _Lunch at 12 tomorrow? I’ll pick you up and we can decide where to go from there. Unless you already have something in mind?_

 **_Rey:_ ** _Sounds good. I don’t have anything in mind, let’s surprise ourselves tomorrow. See you tomorrow!!_

 **_Kylo:_ ** _I miss your presence already. Good night._

 ** _Rey:_** _Good night_ 😊

Placing her phone face down on her chest, she sighs, heart racing. She cannot wait to kiss him again.

***

**_Kylo:_** _I’m here. Do you want me to wait outside or?_

 **_Rey:_ ** _Uhm I’m not done getting ready yet. Maybe it’ll be better for you to come up and take a seat first? I stay on the fourth floor, third door to the right_ 😊

 **_Kylo_ ** _: Sure, I’ll see you upstairs._

Within minutes, Rey hears a knock on her door. She rushes to the door, internally praying that her apartment is clean and neat.

“Hey. I guess we’re matching today. ” Rey chuckles.

“Hey. Yea, great minds think alike. Also, sorry I’m here empty-handed. If I’d known I’ll be coming up, I’d brought something.”.

“You don’t have to bring anything, you’re just here because I’m taking too long to get ready. I’m just glad you’re here.” She stretches out to hold his hand and intertwines her fingers with his.

“You look absolutely stunning.” He takes her in. She smells like citruses and lavender, and he could tell right away that is wearing a different perfume. Rey is wearing an off-shoulder white crop top and a mini dark denim skirt.

“So do you.” She responds. Kylo is looking fine in a white t-shirt, black sweat shorts, black Adidas continentals and a beige cap. She can really get used to this look. “Take a seat on the couch, I’m almost done with my makeup.”

“I think you’re ready to go.” He murmurs as he bends down to give her a peck on her cheek. “You don’t any makeup.”

“But I want to. I promise I just need 10 mins. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.” He voice gets softer as she disappears into her room. He takes this opportunity to look around her apartment. The mismatched furniture harmonised so elegantly together. Neutral and cool shades of brown and green surround the room. He sits down on the couch and picks up a novel left on the coffee table. _South of the Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami._ He reads the first few pages of it while waiting for her.

In no time, Rey was done. She finished her look with some sandals and a small straw bag. The most striking thing about her appearance was her bright red lipstick on those kissable lips. His eyes stay fixated on her and he puts the novel done. _I’m so lucky to know this beautiful, intelligent lady,_ he thinks to himself. He swiftly takes out his phone and snaps a photo of her.

“I want to remember you forever,” he explains. His response got her into a fit of giggles, and she strikes a few poses while he continues taking pictures of her. “Alright, alright, let’s go. I’m famished.”

***

They spent almost the entire lunch holding hands, literally, as often as they could. On the walk down to the car, on the drive there, even when they were waiting of lunch at the restaurant. This time they decide to make a spontaneous decision of picking a random restaurant a short drive from her place. Occasionally they get a few eyes on them, probably because of their rather visible large age gap. They had a lovely time otherwise.

After lunch, he drives her back to her place and this time, she lets him walk her back to her unit. When they reach the door, they are facing each other with both her hands in his. Him unwilling to let go of her. He leans forward into her space towering over her. He can kiss her all day if he could. Heat rushes through her veins as he moves closer, his lips hovering over her leaving her quivering and restless.

His large hand snakes up to cup her neck and face, while the other holds her waist to pull her closer. Her heart is thumping so hard in her chest that he could almost feel it. The spaces between diminishes and she finally feel his lips brush over hers. He kisses her gently first. His hand tilts her face more to the side to deepen the kiss. This is the first time they have kissed properly and the second day she has gone out with him. He is conscientious of his every move, keep the intensity on the same notch as he waits for Rey to reciprocate.

Rey tiptoes and slides one hand around his neck, pulling him closer. Her kisses get needier by the second as her fingers begin to frantically search for her keys in her bag, eyes remaining closed. After a few seconds, she pulls them out and reluctantly releases herself from his grip to unlock the door.

While she is occupied with unlocking the door, he trails kisses from her chin down her neck, suckling onto her skin that would probably leave a mark. He has been wanting to kiss her shoulders all afternoon. How dare she teases him with her petite off-shoulder blouse.

“Kylo…” she murmurs, trying her hardest to multitask.

“I start work next week and I might get really busy… but I want to see you again.” He told her between kisses.

“It’s okay… I’ll be busy with finals for the next two weeks and I’ll be starting my internship so there’s nothing to worry about.” She pulls the door handle down and pushes the door open with her back against it, Kylo following after.

“You could come over and study whenever you need a change of environment,” he whispers. He nibbles onto her ear, and she lets out a soft groan. They took off their shoes hastily mid-embrace. He brings her to the couch and gestured for her to sit on top of him, her legs straddling him on both sides. Settling down on his thighs, she shudders at the feeling of his erection pressing against her apex. He is already hard from their encounter. She is glad that he feels the same way about her as she does about him.

The was something unexplainable and sensational about their kiss, she has never had another that feels like that. His arms now wrapped around her torso, her body closer to him than ever. Their short contact in the car last night left her dreaming all night about this very moment.

Kylo lowers her down onto the couch and fitting his body into her parting legs. He kneels at the edge of her skirt that ran up her tights, her white lace underwear peeking through her skirt. His hungry eyes staring at her body in awe. Palm over his mouth, he is in disbelief that this is real. He wants her, desperately. _But does she?_

“I want this,” she promises him, practically reading his mind. Hearing her response, he hurriedly buries his face into her hair, inhaling her scent once more. His hands snake up her top only to find out she is not wearing a bra. With rapid speed, he pulls her blouse off her while she unbuttons her denim skirt. She lies under him now with only her underwear on.

She transcends out of this world once again when his lips graze her neck, suckling on her skin and will probably leave a mark. Mentally, she knows it is going to be time-consuming to cover up the mark with concealer, but at that moment she does not care. Between each kiss, he presses on her skin she moans a little louder, breath getting shorter.

Kylo’s movements become a little messier from her reaction, his hands on each breast, fingers grazing over her nipples. She feels the sweet friction of his erection rubbing on her clit, mere fabrics separating them. He trails kisses down her neck, briefly skimming his lips over her nipple. Breathing unsteadily, she grabs a bunch of his hair and tugs it tightly, indicating to him that she wanted more. He groans and takes her nipple to his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. He takes the other nipple with his thumb and grazes over it, causing her to whimper under his touch. He then continues to trail kisses down her torso, stopping at her already wet underwear. He presses his warm lips against the fabric, setting every nerve ending of hers on fire. He kissed everywhere but her clit, making her squirm more. He was so hungry, dying to taste her, but he holds himself back just to tease her a little.

“Kylo, please,” she whispers while he takes a deep inhale of her sex. The feeling of his head between her tights was better than she imagines. She wishes this would last forever.

“Can I?” he asks, fingers already tugging at the hems of her lace underwear. Rey nods timidly and digs her fingers into his hair, unsure if she can handle what is going to happen next. He pulls her underwear off, and she feels his lips pressing against her inner thigh, thumb drawing soothing circles on the other. His lips move nearer and nearer, and finally, even with all the warnings, she shuddered at the lick of his tongue from her entrance to her clit. Grabbing her hips pulling her closer to his face, he buries his head in her sex, licking deeper with every stroke. His nose brushed against her clit and the combination of touches make even more embarrassing wet than before.

Another moan escapes his mouth as he continues his tongue work, and Rey thinks that she might have seen entire galaxies in her vision with her eyes clenched shut. His lips close around and sucks on her clit while he pushes one finger into her. She cries out volumes that were definitely obscene, but fortunately, it was only him and her together at that moment.

“Kylo,” she whispers, tilting her back in pleasure. She was gasping for air, barely breathing at the intensity of his warm touches. As she reaches closer to her climax, he picks up the pace. “Kylo, I’m so close, fuck…” He then slips another finger into her, tongue and fingers moving in sync. 

“Come for me, Rey”, he whispers. She moans loudly as she came, gasping for air as waves of pleasure floods through her. It is undoubtedly one of the best orgasms she has had in a while. But she is not ready for it to be over.

“Kylo, I want you.” She whimpers, pulling him from between her legs to hover over her, wrenching his shirt in a bunch. She is fulling naked, but he is still fully clothed.

“Tell me what you want me to do to you. Tell me.” He speaks with dominance in his voice, not making the next move until she tells him what she wants.

“I want you to fuck me, please.” Her voice trembles slightly on the last word, and he begins to loosen the drawstring on his pants. In one swift move, he takes off all his clothes and adjusts himself on top of her. Seeing how huge he is, she stares in awe.

“Do you have a condom?”

“I don’t but my period just ended, so as long as you’re clean it’s safe.” She answers.

“I’m clean too.” He lines himself with her entrance, barely giving any signs of his nervousness away. But, oh man, he definitely was. He bends down to kiss her lips again and she feels the tip of his cock at her entrance. Rey adjusts herself lower, resulting in the tip pressing slightly inside her.

A tiny gasp escapes her mouth while he gently buries his cock deeper into her. Filling every inch of her with him, he pauses to allow her to accustom to his size. His movements are slow at first, almost like he was afraid to hurt her. It feels so good it was almost frustrating that he had to be gentle.

Now that gets used to the feeling of his large cock inside her, she wraps her legs around him. The adjusted angle allows him to sink even deeper into her. This causes him to get impatient and e moves a little bit faster with his thrusts a little bit harder. He kisses her lips furiously, tongue invading into her mouth to taste hers.

Moans escape their mouths when she shifts her hips in his next thrust, forcing him to move a little faster, just the way she wants. Without the need for words, Kylo quickly catches on and his thrusts get even more intense. He pulls lips away from her places her legs on his shoulder. His grips tighten on her thighs and her nails dug into his skin. The sharp pain only makes his moves more feral.

Knowing that he was going to come anytime soon, his thumb finds her clit once more and began to rub little circles into it with every thrust. All that she could verbalise was his name, along with a string of profanities, as he begins to driver her towards the edge.

Her orgasm building up once more, she cries louder and louder for him to thrust harder, both of them screaming each other’s names as they built one another up to that shared climax.

“Fuck… Rey…” he whispers, tilting his head back in pleasure while Rey gasps for air.

“Kylo, I’m… so…fuck,” she loses coherence as all possible thoughts were derailed from the overwhelming pleasure.

“Just come for me Rey,” his voice almost begging. He thrusts a little deeper inside of her, thumb placing more pressure on her clit.

Within seconds, Rey gasps as she comes, fighting hard to breathe as waves of pleasure sweeps over her. Without a doubt, her orgasm causes him to cry out her name once more, and she feels the extra warmth spilling inside her.

He plants soft kisses along her feet which was still on his shoulders before pushing her legs down by his side. He bends down to nuzzle into the nape of her neck, kissing her skin delicately. They stay like this for a while.

He pulls away, staring down at her. He is mesmerised by her beauty. Rey’s hand reaches out to cup his face drawing him in for one more kiss. He deepens the kiss and licks her lower lips, begging for entrance into her mouth. His kisses are no longer ferocious. They are delicate and soft, taking extra care with each movement of his lips.

Finally, they tear apart, left to just stare at each other in awe. He pulls his softening cock out, grabbing a bunch of tissues from the tissue box on the coffee table so that he doesn’t make a mess. Cum spill out and he quickly helps to clean up the mess.

She stares at him smiling while he cleans her up, thankful that he is such a gentleman. This intimate moment with him made her even more fascinated by him. Once he was done, he sits back and looks at her.

“Why are you staring at me?” he cocks his head to the side, confused.

“No reason,” she chirps back, omitting the fact that she was completely entranced by his presence. “That was incredible, thank you.”

“It was amazing for me too,” he answers. Saying nothing else, he leans in yet again to kiss her forehead. Then, he pulls her into his lap and wraps his arms around her in an embrace.

Suddenly, they hear something.

_Knock, knock._

Neither of them moves.

_Knock, knock._

“Rey!” Finn’s voice echoes through the hallway.

“Are you there?” This time it was Rose’s voice, and Rey quickly realises that her friends are right outside her door while both of them are sitting butt naked on the couch.

“Shit…” Rey mutters. “I forgot I have company.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When in doubt of the plot, write smut. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is my first ever time writing smut and I hope it wasn't too bad :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She thinks that I should DTR with you.” He cocks his head to the side, confused about that expression. “Define the relationship. She thinks that I should define our relationship with you.”
> 
> “Right.”
> 
> “Right,” Rey repeats what he says, unsure of how to facilitate the conversation. She takes a few sips of her cider to think. “We’ve been spending a lot of time for the past month or so. I care about you a lot; I miss you every time you’re not around. But what are we? What does that make us? I know you miss me too; you tell me that all the time. Does that mean something?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back again with another chapter update! 
> 
> I've been wanting to write this all week but I've been so awfully busy.
> 
> Hope you like it! 😋

The next month or so passes by rather quickly with Rey focusing on her university final exams while Kylo starts work. The two spends a lot of time together, a lot more than two people with no labels should.

She has been pushing aside her promise to Rose and Finn to find time to talk to Kylo to define their relationship, or as Rose puts it, DTR. She finds all sorts of excuses she can to justify her not doing so, such as “he’s too busy” or “I’m planning to focus on studying for my exams first before I figure my love life out”. At the back of her head, she has no intentions to bring it up to Kylo, especially since how well they have been going over the last few weeks.

Rey spends her entire weekends with Kylo, going over on Friday evening and having him drop her off on Monday mornings on his way to work. At first, she wore his clothes, but after a while, she found it more practical to just leave a few sets of clothes for various activities in his apartment. After all, he has a huge wardrobe for her to put some of her things.

One day when Kylo was grocery shopping, he gave her a call to ask if he should get any necessities for her to put in his apartment bathroom. Rey, of course, said basic things like some conditioner, not stating the brand because she is not picky, and it does not matter much to her. Kylo, on the other hand, purchased a rather expensive range of conditioner, a brand that Rey has never purchased, or even take a look of their products because they are way out of her budget. She berated him after finding out for wasting money like that, but how could she stay angry at him when all he wanted was to, according to his words, “let his baby girl feel the best and smell the best”?

It is no surprise that more and more pet names have slipped into their daily, somewhat romantic routine. He has an array of nicknames he has for her, from baby and baby girl to princess and kitten. He calls her the last one especially when they are having sex and that time when he was on the phone for an important work call. She took his helplessness as an opportunity to perform a striptease for him, causing him to hang up on his call early to finish what she started.

On the weekends with Kylo, he does not let Rey do anything but study – he believes that education is so important and puts it first. He promises to give her a good massage during her study breaks, and by massage, he means his mouth on her clit.

After a long and very hard day of studying and Kylo trying to keep their hands off each other, they cuddle fuck on the couch or in the bedroom. Ever since Rey discovered the beautiful, magical, wonderful world of cuddle sex, she craves for it, and Kylo fulfils her every need for it.

Rey’s favourite snuggling position is spooning sex. After a long day of studying and working, half-sleepy fully-naked Kylo acts as the big spoon, and all Rey has to do is lean into him. It is the perfect position for him to give her extra ear and neck nibbling, leaving a trail of hickies along the back of her shoulder.

At least once a week, Kylo stays for the night at Rey’s apartment, because the workweeks are too long, and the weekends are too short. He cannot get enough of her and he hates waking up in the morning without her lying next to him. Her twin size mattress is a little small for both of them considering the large redwood he is.

But Kylo enjoys the closeness between them, she feels a lot like him. He always has a spare set of work clothes at her place, rotating every time he comes over. He tells her she can send his suit for dry cleaning, but she rather washes and irons it herself.

It is the little things they do for each other without asking that makes their companionship so complete, like how she wakes up early on the mornings he is over to make him breakfast, just in time for when he gets out of the shower, or when he carries her to bed when she studies halfway and falls asleep.

Two weeks into knowing Kylo, Rey decides that it will be a lot safer to get on birth control. With the number of times they have sex at the most unexpected times, she calculated that it would be a lot cheaper than condoms. Kylo, of course, could not happier with her decision. Rey is pretty sure they have had sex in every part of her apartment and _his_ apartment.

Sometimes they hold hands in public, sometimes they do not. Sometimes he steals kisses from her lips in the waiting line for ice-cream. Manhattan is so crowded; Rey does not have to worry about meeting someone she knows in public.

As for Kylo, he is happy with the way things are going between them, and at this point, he is too afraid to ask. He does not see the point of bringing up something that they do not need, having a conversation that could change their interpersonal relationship for the worse. As much as he likes solving problems for his clients, this is not a problem and he does not what to change that fact.

He is nothing but thankful for knowing Rey, for being so understanding and accommodating to his time. He can barely remember the last time he cared so much about a person. Work takes up most of his life and for many years, he has been married to his work.

After meeting Rey and allowing him to stay in her life, he looks forwards to evenings after work and the weekends, knowing that he can share his free time with someone.

He likes how Rey keeps updated of her daily activities, what she is thinking and what she is doing, acting as an adequate breather from work. He likes how she is not afraid to text him multiple times throughout the day without him replying, knowing that he occupied with work and respects his time. He likes how she has no expectations of him, never asking more than what he gives, only accepting everything with open arms.

If anyone asked, he would probably say that his favourite pastime hobby is nuzzling his nose into Rey’s hair to inhale her scent. She always smells like flowers and fruits, so sweet and delicious. His second favourite hobby is waking up in the morning with her wrapped tightly in his embrace, despite the ample space available on his bed.

He knows it is too early and they have only known each other for barely a month, but at the back of his mind, he wants to give her access to his apartment so that she can come and go as she pleases. However, he is afraid of scaring her off. So he waits.

***

“Cheers, for completing your first day of internship.” Kylo and Rey clink glasses and take a sip, celebrating her first taste of the corporate world. They were having authentic Britany crepes from a French creperie for dinner, paring their mains with some artisanal apple ciders. “How was it? I want to hear all about your day. I miss your voice.”

“Kylo!” she giggles. “We just saw each other on Sunday.”

“I know...” His hand reaches across the dining table to cup her face, drawing tiny, gentle circles on her cheek. He gives her a warm smile.

“Today was mostly orientation I guess; Rose and I are in different departments but I’m happy to be spending my summer in the same company as her. I’m not sure how many interns and full-timers there will be on my team. I’ll be meeting them tomorrow and I’m so nervous.”

“That’s good to hear. Hope you had a good day. Every day is just a regular workday for me I guess, it’s rather hectic but not as bad as my previous firm.” They dig into their dinner, Rey having a crepe with egg, emmental cheese and ham while Kylo ordered the avocado mashed with cream and garlic, prawn and tomatoes.

Rey has been thinking all week about when the right time to DTR with Kylo was but there never seem to be the right time. Their conversations were always so light-hearted, and she didn’t want to spoil the mood by talking about something heavy. Braving herself to ask him later, she side-track to another conversation topic.

“Shall we do something this weekend? If you’re free of course.” She waits for him to say something, but he does not. He is too busy enjoying his crepe to do so. “I haven’t been spending so much time studying this in the past few months that I haven’t gone out for so long.”

“Mhm,” Kylo nods with a mouth full of food, chewing quickly so he can respond. “What do you suggest? I can always make some time for you.”

“We could go to the mall. I haven’t been there for a long time and I could really use some shopping therapy.” She smiles sheepishly at him.

Ben considers. “Okay, sure. I’ll keep you updated on which weekend I’ll be free?” He squeezes Rey’s hand.

“Okay. Anyway, there’s been something on my mind that I want to talk to you about.” She pauses to take another bite of her savoury crepe; it is absolutely delicious

However, the pause makes Kylo slightly discomforted, especially since he is unsure of what she wants to talk about. He is filled with anxiety.

 _What it something I did?_ He thinks to himself. He does not remember upsetting her in the last few weeks. She continues to take several more bites of her crepe, leaving him hanging. “Rey, what did you want to talk about? Should I be worried?”

“Oh my gosh, no, wait, it’s not what you think.” She giggles but stops right after she sees that his nervousness has not dissipated from his face. “Um, it’s actually something Rose has been bugging me since that first time we fucked on my couch.”

“Aw, I miss that though.” He teases. “But what about it?”

“She thinks that I should DTR with you.” He cocks his head to the side, confused about that expression. “Define the relationship. She thinks that I should define our relationship with you.”

“Right.”

“Right,” Rey repeats what he says, unsure of how to facilitate the conversation. She takes a few sips of her cider to think. “We’ve been spending a lot of time for the past month or so. I care about you a lot; I miss you every time you’re not around. But what are we? What does that make us? I know you miss me too; you tell me that all the time. Does that mean something?”

“First of all, Rey, I’m bad with conversations like this but I know we have to have it sooner or later, so I’ll try my best to be as clear as possible about my feelings for you.” He takes a pregnant pause.

“I like you. A lot." He adds on. "I don’t know what we are either, but I like whatever we have going on and… I don’t know if I want that to change. But you’re the best thing in my life. I don’t want you out of my life, ever. If you want me to be your boyfriend, I guess that is possible, but I don’t know if I can be that person for you. I don’t know if I can live up to your expectations of the perfect boyfriend and I don’t want to disappoint you. I-”

Rey puts her hand out like a stop sign. “Kylo. Just pause for a moment. I get where you are coming from and I need you to hear me out first, okay?” He nods his head in agreement. “I get you. I personally feel like I don’t have the emotional capacity to get into a relationship due to my childhood baggage, something which you know I’m working on. But I like you too, I might even say I need you in my life. I like whatever we have going on. But how do I explain our relationship to my friends?”

“They’re really worried about me.” Rey continues. “I just wish I could find a better way to explain us to reassure them. They’re like family to me.”

“Rey, baby, we don’t need to be anything else if you don’t want to. We don’t need to justify our relationship to anyone else but ourselves.”

“I know.” She smiles in relief. “But what should I tell them?”

“I think that we are more than a companionship but less than a relationship, somewhere in between. We’re just two people in this world who care about each other but are not ready to take the next steps, I suppose. Are you seeing anyone else? Because I’m not.”

“I’m not seeing anyone else either.” Rey bites her lip and gives him a goofy grin. “I like it. No labels.”

“No labels, no expectations.” He returns her a radiant smile, opening his arms. “Come here, kitten.”

Rey gets out of her seat and squeezes Kylo into hug tightly, relieved that she the conversation topic when a lot better than expected. She loves how he is able to melt all her worries away. He strokes her hair and they stay like this for just a while.

***

Rey arrives 15 minutes early to the office, waiting for someone to bring her and the other interns to their department level and meet the team. She was told by Kaydel to take a seat along the long benches to wait for the supervisor to meet her. Rey was wearing a white blouse with a grey pencil skirt, something simple because she has yet to buy new clothes. She makes a mental note to purchase more workwear this weekend with Kylo.

After a few minutes, she sees a guy walk in who appears to be a fellow intern like her. He had dark brown hair wavy hair, longer on the top and shorter on the sides. He is dressed in a white shirt with charcoal blazer and pants. She thinks he is kind of cute. He makes some small talk with Kaydel and then takes a seat on the bench next to her. Rey decides to initiate a conversation with him.

“Hi, are you an intern too?”

“Hi, yes, I am. “He reaches his hand out to Rey. “I’m Poe and I’m a consulting intern with the operations team. How about you?”

Rey leans in for a handshake. “I’m Rey, and I’ll be with the operations team too. Looks like we’re going to be co-workers for the next few months.”

“That’s great, I was so worried I’ll be the only intern. Do you know anyone else besides us who will be joining this team?” She asks.

“I have no clue and I hope not. The more the merrier!” He exclaims.

An extrovert, Poe finds little difficulty in keeping the conversation going with Rey. They spend the next few minutes sharing about their universities, majors and hobbies, and what brought them to apply with FOS.

“Hi Rey and Poe, I’m glad you guys have gotten acquainted with each other.” I’m Hux, and I’ll be both of your supervisor for this internship. “There are a few more interns coming in the next few weeks, so you won’t be too lonely in the weeks to come.”

The three exchanged warm, friendly smiles. Hux looks well-polished in his navy blue suit, red hair combed back with some fringe falling onto his face. If all the men in her department look _this_ attractive, she has one more reason to come to work.

“Follow me.” Hux states. Poe and Rey quickly trail after Hux, following him into the lift as he leads them to their department floor.

“Our entire team is based on level 9. Our team currently has 25 people excluding interns, so it’ll take you some time to get acquainted with everyone. I know it’s a lot, but we don’t bite, I promise.”

The lift door opens and the follow after. Hux seems relatively nice and Rey feels like she could really like the team if they’re all as nice as him.

As they enter through the glass doors, Rey catches a glimpse of the office environment. It’s white and sleek, with a few large indoor plants every few metres. She sees a few rooms with doors, probably for meetings or for the higher-ranked consultants. The offices have a frosted glass with additional blinders inside, and a row of plants on the ground around the edge of the room. With the plants so well-groomed, they probably have an inhouse gardener.

“Rey and Poe, this is Phasma. You’ll be working together a lot for the next few months.”

“Hi Rey, hi Poe, it’s really nice to meet you. We have a hot desk system so you can sit anywhere you like in this office.”

“That’s right,” Hux adds on. “Our team mainly sits in this area but feel free to sit anywhere you like. I want to introduce to you our department director, Ben, but he’s still in his office. I’ll go bring him over to meet you guys. In the meantime, you two take a seat and make yourself comfortable.” Hux stalks off to the back of the end of the office.

Rey takes the furthest desk, with Poe sitting next to her. She pulls out her laptop, tumbler and everything else she needs and displays them on the table, arranging everything around to make it look neat. So does Poe. Each desk has a monitor attached to it and she connects the cables to her laptop. She fumbles with plugging the laptop charger head into the socket, unaware of the footsteps getting louder nearby.

“Meet Ben Solo, our director of the operations team,” Hux announces.

“Hi, it’s really nice to meet you two.”

“Hi, I’m Poe.”

Rey twirls her chair around, eyes looking down from his shoes up. He was wearing a black pair of leather shoes, black socks, black tailored pants, white shirt, black tie and black blazer. He has one hand in his pocket, the other hand in a handshake with Poe.

Her eyes trail up to his face. Her gaze falls onto non-other than Kylo.

“Rey?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of keeping this writing to 10-15 chapters bout we'll see how it goes, because I've got a few plot developments in mind. Edit: I’ve temporarily set it at 12
> 
> If you enjoyed reading this do remember to leave kudos and/or a comment! I would love to know who I could improve. 
> 
> Have an awesome week! 💛💛


End file.
